BlueAquarium06's Shrimp Tank Build!

[BLUEaquarium06]

So my newest adventure is about to kick off, my tank is just finishing up its cycle. I'm going to be finding up the aquascape and plants this week and hope to be adding my stock either next week or the following (parameters permitting).

The last thing to decide is what I'm going to put in there. I was originally thinking of basically just doing a planted tank with maybe a pair of rams and some shrimp in it, but now I'm leaning more towards a shrimp only tank.

What I'm trying to decide on is which shrimp I should be going for. I'm thinking RCS, Rili, Blue Velvet, or Diamond. I would be trying to improve the grade of whatever shrimp I end up with. What do you guys think? What's your personal opinion on which you like the best?

The tank is going to be heavily planted with, hopefully a dhg carpet, A LOT of java moss, a couple anubias, and several others. There is lots of driftwood and hiding places. Right now I'm keeping it at 76°-77°. It's 29 gallons with a seachem tidal55 HOB with a large sponge covering the intake and a Eheim glass heater.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

[Fresh2o]

As far as colors go, blue is very much in demand. Otherwise, you have that and others to choose from.
I’d skip the heater. Really not needed. Higher temps lead to faster growth but shorter lifespan. Shrimp are fine with temps in the 60s and lower 70s.

 

[BLUEaquarium06]

As far as colors go, blue is very much in demand. Otherwise, you have that and others to choose from.
I’d skip the heater. Really not needed. Higher temps lead to faster growth but shorter lifespan. Shrimp are fine with temps in the 60s and lower 70s.

My apartment usually stays around 73-74 in the bedroom during the day, but can drop to around 64-65 at night, should I leave the heater in and just drop it to say 72° to avoid temp fluctuations?

 

[Fresh2o]

70-72 would be fine.

 

[King Fisher]

Gradual fluctuations over hours won't hurt them.

 

[BLUEaquarium06]

Okay so i set the heater to 70° just so it doesn't drop to much at night. One thing I'm sort of questioning is my lighting. I'm currently using a fluval sky that I was using as supplemental lighting on my nano reef. I'm just not sure if it's enough light. Does anyone have any suggestions on good lights for a planted tank? I don't really want to break the bank but I like to buy the best lol

 

[kashif314]

Any light will do good (unless not very dim) if you are not using pressurized co2. With too bright light your plants will crave for co2.

About the shrimp choice. I kept all colors including the fantasy blue dreams but i loved the bloody mary color the most. If you can get the true bloody mary you ll love how intense dark they look and they stand out in green tank while blue shrimps looks like black when tank is very green. The more high grade blues the more dark they ll look in green tank. I attached pictures of my blue and red. Red doesn't look very red in picture but with naked eye its very dark red like maroon (Bloody mary) Also this blue is fantasy blue dream. They are more intense blue than normal blue velvet.

 

[BLUEaquarium06]

Any light will do good (unless not very dim) if you are not using pressurized co2. With too bright light your plants will crave for co2.

About the shrimp choice. I kept all colors including the fantasy blue dreams but i loved the bloody mary color the most. If you can get the true bloody mary you ll love how intense dark they look and they stand out in green tank while blue shrimps looks like black when tank is very green. The more high grade blues the more dark they ll look in green tank. I attached pictures of my blue and red. Red doesn't look very red in picture but with naked eye its very dark red like maroon (Bloody mary) Also this blue is fantasy blue dream. They are more intense blue than normal blue velvet. View attachment 310259View attachment 310260

I absolutely love the shrimp, those guys are beautiful. I'm really digging the blue and I'm starting to lean that way now. Even if they'll just look black. I'm leaning more towards the blue velvet, I'm not sure why I'm just really drawn to them

 

[BLUEaquarium06]

So I'm pretty sure my cycle is done, but I'm considering holding off even longer than originally plannedto get the shrimp. I've been reading several sources that say they do best in a more established tank, not necessarily one that just finished it's cycle. I'm just not sure how to know when it's time to add them. I want it to work out right off the bat so i dont want to rush into purchasing them even if my parameters are all set. Is there visual signs to look for to know the tank is ready?

 

[Fresh2o]

What makes an established tank favorable to shrimp is the amount of biofilm present. It is a naturally occurring process in which organisms coat the surfaces of objects in the tank (decor, plants, substrate, walls, filter, etc.) It’s not something you can really measure though. There are products that can help buildup biofilm (SL Aqua Magic Powder, Bacter AE).
You really should get test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH and GH. The first 3 will help with the cycling question. The latter 3 are good to know when keeping shrimp. The type of shrimp you are looking at are pretty tolerant as far as pH goes. However, if the hardness is too low or too high, then the shrimp may experience issues with molting (can often lead to death). Also, knowing the differences between the water the shrimp arrived in and the new tank will help determine how long you should acclimate them.

 

[BLUEaquarium06]

What makes an established tank favorable to shrimp is the amount of biofilm present. It is a naturally occurring process in which organisms coat the surfaces of objects in the tank (decor, plants, substrate, walls, filter, etc.) It’s not something you can really measure though. There are products that can help buildup biofilm (SL Aqua Magic Powder, Bacter AE).
You really should get test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH and GH. The first 3 will help with the cycling question. The latter 3 are good to know when keeping shrimp. The type of shrimp you are looking at are pretty tolerant as far as pH goes. However, if the hardness is too low or too high, then the shrimp may experience issues with molting (can often lead to death). Also, knowing the differences between the water the shrimp arrived in and the new tank will help determine how long you should acclimate them.

I have the test kits lol, this isn't my first rodeo when it comes to cycling. I'm getting zeroes for for ammonia and nitrite, ~10 nitrate. So I'm confident in that. My ph is ~7.4ph. Now the stuff i have no experience with is gh/kh, i have the tests but have never really used them. Gh/kh is 7/4 i believe

 

[King Fisher]

Your TDS is on the low end

 

[Fresh2o]

Your TDS is on the low end

Where do you see TDS?
The GH/KH is fine for neos.

 

[King Fisher]

Oops. Phone autocorrected me. Didn't like kh,gh.

 

[Autumnsky]

Hate when the phone thinks it knows what its talking about!

The Blues like Kashif's are really amazing. I started wanting to keep shrimp because of Orange Eye Blue Tiger shrimp! There weren't even Blue Velvets or Blue Dreams and many others even available in the USA lfs market back then (in the olden days)!!!

Now there are SO many great looking shrimp available!

The GH /KH (and even TDS) may be important or even critical depending upon what water you have from the tap and which shrimp you would want to keep. Most locally bred/hobbyist shrimp are raised in local water conditions and will be fine.

Imported shrimp are where the water issues start to get sensitive.

Also where they come from in regard to the importer and say how long or IF they quarantine the imports. Travel is stressful for the shrimp and after importing often some are lost because of all the transitions to different conditions. Some import sellers will send out shrimp pretty much immediately.

It is good to know what you are getting and from where, when you do get to the buying part!

 

[kashif314]

You need to buy bacter ae or any similar product to create bio film but make sure to aerate your tank well. Thise product needs to be used with caution or your shrimps will die because the bacteria in product can use all the oxygen in tank. So need to use in small quantities. But this product is a must for any shrimp keeper.

Also with shrimps like neocaridinas are very forgiving and adaptable to different ph or tds or kh but there is one thing that must not be out of range and that is GH. Higher or lower gh will cause molting issues or failed molts results in deaths.

Another important factor is to always drip acclimate your shrimp when you introduce them.

If you like blue variant then fantasy dream blues are the best. I seen blue velvets as well but fantasy blue are very dark blue. Blue velvets aren't bad either though.

 

[BLUEaquarium06]

Im so terrible at making up my mind lol, now I'm starting to lean more towards black colors, is there any good source to get some quality ones with black coloration? And I've been reading about bacter ae, is it really a necessity. If so ill take your word and use it. I'm just not positive i see it as something that's absolutely necessary especially in a very heavily planted tank

 

[kashif314]

Im so terrible at making up my mind lol, now I'm starting to lean more towards black colors, is there any good source to get some quality ones with black coloration? And I've been reading about bacter ae, is it really a necessity. If so ill take your word and use it. I'm just not positive i see it as something that's absolutely necessary especially in a very heavily planted tank

Black rose shrimps are nice but really i don't suggest them. They look like big insects. Better go for blue or red and in case of red bloody mary.

Bacter ae is not necessary but very useful. You need to google bacter ae and read about it on glasgarten web site. What it does is that it creates a biofilm which is the main source of shrimp food. In a new tank this biofilm doesn't exist so its great product to create that biofilm. Also shrimp fry often starved to death but when you put bacter ae to your tank they will have supple of food. Guaranteed to increase frys survival rate but a very important warning. You must have adequate aeration when using this product. Use in very very low quality. Don't use as they suggest on box.

on the other hand if you have a mature tank and don't want to buy it you ll be fine too but one bacter ae box will last you for years and i guarantee you that you can use it even when it is expired as by German laws they are bound to put an expiry date but people use it even after 3 years since its expiry. Really a very nice product specially if your aim is to BREED shrimps.